(This article originally appeared in the TAU-USA Fall 2023 Issue #110)

National Ecumenical/Interfaith Committee   

 by Ron Lacey, OFS

One of the greatest joys at the recent National Chapter, for me, was meeting in person two of my fellow Ecumenical/Interfaith Committee members, Donna Hollis, and Carolyn Townes, as well as our friend Fr. Masud ibn Syedullah, who attended the Chapter as an observer on behalf of the Third Order Society of St Francis (TSSF). I was especially grateful that Fr. Masud shared with me some of the history of the founding of the Joint Committee on Franciscan Unity – and the role he played in the founding. I also enjoyed learning about his ministry in Hyde Park, NY, and his parish’s intimate connection with the Roosevelts.

from right to left, Ron Lacey, OFS; Donna Hollis, OFS; Fr. Masud Syedullah, TSSF

I couldn’t help thinking how our meeting – an Anglican priest at the Chapter of a Catholic order – would have been, for far too long, unthinkable. Until people did think of it! And then these people acted on it: Roman Catholic Secular Franciscans reached out to the Anglican TSSF and the Order of Ecumenical Franciscans and asked for dialogue. Meetings were held, and five principles of Franciscan unity, across our denominations, were discovered: baptism, charism, call, Christo-centrism, and the prophetic voice. The Joint Committee on Franciscan Unity was founded, and in time the Order of Lutheran Franciscans joined. “How blessed it is when brothers and sisters dwell together in unity,” (Ps 133:1).

It may not seem very big, noticeably big, but in fact, as Pope Francis reminds us in his encyclical Fratelli Tutti: “If we want to encounter and help one another, we have to dialogue.  Persistent and courageous

dialogue does not make headlines, but quietly helps the world to live much better than we imagine,”

(198). We must all create processes – indeed, a culture – of encounter. In such a culture, “we, as a people, should be passionate about meeting others, seeking points of contact, building bridges, planning a project that includes everyone,” (216). Processes of encounter will “build a people that can accept differences,” (217). It’s hard to imagine anything the world needs more right now than building bridges and accepting differences! This is especially incumbent upon people of faith. Christians “need to find occasions to speak with one another and to act together for the common good and the promotion of the poor,” (282).

If you have not already done so, please spend some time with Fratelli Tutti. Maybe read it with your Fraternity, or start a reading group in your parish, or just read it by yourself. It beautifully articulates the vision of a culture of encounter, with helpful suggestions to create processes of encounter.

Fratelli Tutti may also be useful in addressing the important subject of anti-racism, something that was discussed at length at our National Chapter. Not being racist is not the same thing as being anti-racist. Anti-racism is an active and definitive stand against racism, including systemic and institutional racism, which can be all too easy for majority-culture people like me to overlook. Anti-racism is the intentional work for inclusion, respect, and a more just world. We need reminders.

One may wonder what anti-racism has to do with ecumenism. For starters, they both grow out of loving and honest encounters, and they are both aimed at creating and fostering further encounter and dialogue. Pope Francis doesn’t go out on a limb when he says: “Jesus never promoted violence or intolerance,” (238). But he reminds us that society – of which our Order is a little piece, our Church a bigger piece – is a family, and “the joys and sorrows of each of its members are felt by all. That is what it means to be a family!” (230). “There is no end to the building of a country’s social peace; rather, it is an open-ended endeavor, a never-ending task that demands the commitment of everyone and challenges us to work tirelessly to build the unity of the nation,” (232).

Seek with Encounters, Dialogue with Others

Fr. Christopher Panagoplos, TOR, reminds us in his most recent homily for Sunday, February 11th, 2024, the 6th Sunday in Ordinary Time, that Jesus can heal our sinfulness just as he healed the leprosy of the unfortunate man in today’s gospel.

“Jesus knows this law as well as any other rabbi of His day.  But He chooses to break the law in a most deliberate and decisive way—He actually stretches out His hand and touches the leper who came for a cure.  Touches him.  Inexcusable!  Irresponsible!  But it works!  Jesus’ tender touch makes the leper clean—without the benefit of Dial, Tide, or Suave.”

Read the full text of this Sunday’s homily here:  5th Sunday in Ordina6th Sunday in Ordinary Time – Fr. Christopher (text)

View his homily here:  6th Sunday in Ordinary Time – Fr. Christopher (video)

The Gospel Through a Franciscan Lens – 6th Sunday in Ordinary Time – Fr. Christopher

Minister General Tibor Kauser, OFS

This is a translation of a reflection delivered by Tibor Kauser, OFS Minister General of the Secular Franciscan Order, at the opening ceremony honoring the 800th anniversary of St. Francis of Assisi’s stigmata.

St. Francis is a very relevant person. He is also an example for seculars, who can learn much from his life.  As a young man, he was the leader of a group in Assisi.

Today we would say he was an influencer. Many wanted to follow him, to imitate him. Everything he did and said had a great impact on the lives of his friends.

It is important to note this because we can see what God changes and what he does not (change). God did not take many things out of Francis’s life but transformed them, thus conforming Francis to Christ. Francis kept his ambitions, to be the messenger of the great King, to be someone extraordinary. He depended on his father and loved his mother like everyone else.

God transformed Francis, keeping many things in his style (that were a part of his character), and not destroying his personality. This is the miracle — how God can transform a person by changing things in life and turning (things that are) bitter into sweetness.

Instead of being the knight of the city and the messenger of a great earthly king, he became the messenger of the greatest king. Instead of being extraordinary, shining by his wealth and riches of material goods, he remained extraordinary, but shining by his poverty and lack of material goods. Instead of depending on his father, he began to belong only to his Heavenly Father. His deep love for his mother turned into a deep love for the Virgin Mary.

So St. Francis is still an influencer today. He has had a great impact on many. He is an example for secular people as well because God retained many characteristics that we would connect to the secular lifestyle: ambitions, being a hero, and showing a special relationship with material goods. However, God changed these things so perfectly that Francis became so conformed to Christ that he became the “Alter Christus.”

St. Francis, transformed by God, influencer of many

by Anne Mulqueen, OFS

National Formation Commission

(This article originally appeared in the TAU-USA Fall 2023 Issue #110)

Today, in Franciscan circles, specific words or phrases are used to describe the Franciscan understanding of Christ and Christ’s relationship to humanity and creation. Too often, no clear definition is given, and many Franciscan teachings are skipped over without understanding what is meant.

This should not discourage us because St. Francis’ understanding of the Almighty deepened throughout his life. The man who began by repairing churches was not the same man who wrote the Canticle of the Creatures and gave himself back to God in the arms of Sister Death. So, Let us begin…

Franciscan Emphasis on the Blessed Trinity

The Trinity appears nowhere in the title of this article, but we must understand Franciscan Trinitarian spirituality to understand how our founder experienced God through each person of the Blessed Trinity. Also, he understood each person of the Trinity as relating to each other. In The Praises of God, written by Francis to Brother Leo, he writes:

You are three and one, the Lord God of gods;  You are good, all good, the highest good,  Lord God living and true.[1]

Further, he writes in his Earlier Rule, Chapter XXIII:

Let all of us truly and humbly believe, hold in our heart and love, honor, adore, serve, praise and bless, glorify and exalt, magnify and give thanks to the Most High and Supreme Eternal God Trinity and Unity Father, Son and Holy Spirit, Creator of all. Savior of all who believe and hope in Him, and love Him.

Now that we have established that St. Francis’ approach to the Godhead was Trinitarian let us turn to his love and devotion to the humanity of Christ.

Christ as Center (Christocentric)

Before theologians began to develop the concept of Christ as the center of all creation, St. Francis understood that all things spiritual and corporal were created through the Son[2].

The late Fr. Eric Doyle, OFM, an English theologian, wrote on why Christocentrism is important for us to understand. Fr. Eric wrote:

Francis reminds us all to realize the dignity God has bestowed on us: our body he formed and created in the image of his Son, our soul he made in his own likeness (Admonition V). The body of the Incarnate Word, Jesus of Nazareth, was the blueprint for the bodies of the first human beings…

For all their simplicity and clarity, [the sentence] of Francis just quoted, has a rich theological content.

Contained in embryo is the Christocentric vision of the Franciscan school and even the doctrine of Christ’s absolute primacy as formulated and expounded by John Duns Scotus[3].

Christocentrism naturally leads us to an understanding of the Primacy of Christ.

Primacy of Christ

The best way to understand the Primacy of Christ is through Scripture, particularly the Gospel of John and Colossians 1:15-20.

John’s Gospel begins by telling us that the Word, Jesus, was with God from the very beginning, and the Word was, in fact. God. Everything that exists came through Jesus; without Him, nothing would exist.

Through Jesus, we have life and a light that overcomes and dispels darkness. (Paraphrase of John’s Prologue). In Colossians, St. Paul and Timothy address the church in Colossae. To emphasize that Jesus is the fullness of God. Paul emphasizes the primacy of Christ in these key verses. He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation… the head of the body, the church… the firstborn from the dead, that in all things He may have the preeminence. (Colossians 1:15, 18).

Christ as Exemplar

Often, in Franciscan sources, you will see Christ defined by the word Exemplar. St. Bonaventure 13.5. Consider Admonition V, wherein Francis writes, … how excellent the Lord made you, for he created and formed you in the image of his beloved son according to the body and to his likeness according to the spirit. Christ is the original, the exemplar, and we are the expression of the original artwork of God.

HAECCEIATAS

Haecceitas is a Latin word that translates into English as thisness. In Franciscan theology, the term was used by Blessed John Duns Scotus to express the unique and never-to-be-repeated quality of all creation. In the words of the song, There’ll Never Be Another You, nor will anything created be replicated. Haecceitas relates to the sacredness of each person and each thing. This concept is essential for all to understand because from it comes our belief in the dignity of each human person and the value of all God’s creation.

Franciscan Lectio Divina

When most prayerful people think of Lectio Divina, they imagine the traditional contemplative way of praying that involves four movements: reading Scripture, meditating on Scripture, entering into prayer, and then contemplatively resting in God’s presence.

Franciscans have another method that goes beyond contemplation into conversion and action. In her letter to Agnes of Prague, St. Clare of Assisi designed a new approach to prayer. Instead of divine reading, Clare offered sacred seeing. Using the crucifix as her image, Clare asked Agnes to gaze upon Christ with the eyes of the heart. Using her mind and imagination, Clare instructed Agnes to consider her thoughts while gazing. The next step Clare suggested was to contemplate Christ by being present to him in silence and allowing the inspiration of the Holy Spirit to emerge. The final step, imitation, is the one that transforms us into the one we love and empowers us to continue Christ’s mission.

Conclusion

The words and phrases used in this article are skeletal; covering them in depth would require writing a book. Also, many more terms need to be defined. The bad news is I had to pick and choose. Fortunately, there is good news. We have many Franciscan books in circulation that go deeply into these topics. I exhort you (using one of St. Francis’ favorite terms) to further research our rich Franciscan history and theology.

One book I highly recommend is The Franciscan Moral Vision: Responding to God’s Love, edited by Thomas A. Nairn. It can be purchased from the Franciscan Institute or Amazon.

Questions:

• How have you experienced Christ as being central in your life?
• If Christ is the blueprint for the image of God and the one through whom all that exists is created, what is your relationship with all of creation?
• How do you enhance the survival and thriving of humanity and the rest of God’s creation?

 [1] Francis of Assisi: The Saint, p. 109

[2] Rule of 1221

[3] St. Francis of Assisi and the Christocentric Character of Franciscan Life and Doctrine, Franciscan Christology p 7.

CHRIST, ST. FRANCIS, and FRANCISCAN THEOLOGICAL TERMS